Wednesday, October 04, 2006

This makes me MAD

Once upon a time in the dark depths of Hades, Beelzebub cleaned out his snot stained nostrils and flicked the contents on earth. Lo, Westboro ‘Baptist Church’ (WBC) was born.

It is now well known that a gunman killed a number of girls in an attack on a Pennsylvania Amish school. Five precious little girls were murdered. As the grieving families and friends gather to mourn their terrible, unimaginable loss, WBC will picket the funerals, blaming the whole tragedy on the fact that Governor Ed Rendell criticised the WB ‘church’. On the WBC webpage, we are told: ‘Meanwhile, WBC is continuing to pray for even worse punishment upon Pennsylvania’.

The really nasty thing is that they think they are all being faithful to God when in truth they are nothing but sickos without an ounce of anything approaching Christ-likeness. They drag the name of Christ into their filth and call it righteous. What a bunch of perverted dick heads. It makes me furious.

See here for a news report, here for another biblioblogger’s frustration, and here for the WBC article its filthy self.

Afterthought: ‘For what have I to do with judging those outside?’ (1 Corinthians 5:12)

Once upon a time in the dark depths of Hades, Beelzebub cleaned out his snot stained nostrils and flicked the contents on earth. Lo, Westboro ‘Baptist Church' was born. I'm like John Stewart when he had Norm Macdonald on - "Please don't make me laugh at this stuff"

It is utterly astounding that someone could even begin to think thoughts this depraved (yes Dr.West I'm still surprised). God ruthlessly killed little girls to make WBC's point. I'm speechless.

Oi. Why is it always Christians that make it the hardest for me to practice nonviolence?

As to your afterthought, well, as far as I can tell you are "judging" those who claim to be inside so your comments would fall under the form of judgment that Paul recommends in 1 Cor 5.

There really does need to be a recovery of the (reconciliatory) role of excommunication within the North American church. We have become a church that cannot discipline herself and so we have Christian congregations doing the shit that WB is doing, and we have a Christian President doing the shit that GWB is doing (by the way, Hauerwas and Cavanaugh have some very good things to say about the role of excommunication).

Further, it seems to me that when the people of God reach such a state, exile is around the corner (whether it's around the next corner or whether it was around the last corner is open for debate).

Sadly, and predictably, there are theological justifications for punishment being a sign of God's activity in judging recalcitrant churches (such as the Amish, in some people's eyes)

Revelation 2 - I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

The question is why should nice theology be preferred to nasty theology, as exemplified by the Westboro Baptist Church.

What objective grounds are there for denying that God will punish churches to show His power?

Hi Steven, I think there are profound differences between the claims and prayers of WBC and the vision in Rev 3. I'm sure I don't need to spell them out; you've got a quick enough mind to notice them. So the issue here isn't at all about the "objective grounds ... for denying that God will punish churches to show His power".

Likewise, theology, of course, isn't just a matter of subjective opinion. I'm not sure what reasoning leads you to suspect it is on this blog.